[1]

May 25, 2023

This month’s newsletter features a new episode of Iran Watch Listen, a
podcast by the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control. We sat down with
Dr. Bruce Goodwin to discuss the process of building nuclear weapons from a
technical perspective, and explored the experience Iran has with some of
the key steps of the weaponization process.

The newsletter also includes profiles of several China-based electronics
distributors supplying Iran’s military industries, as well as news about an
increase in Russian banking activity in Iran, U.S. allegations of Iran’s
continued support for Yemen’s Houthi rebels despite a diplomatic
rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and a thwarted attempt to
illegally export aircraft engines from Ukraine to Iran. Additions to the
Iran Watch library include documents related to a graphite procurement
network with links to notorious proliferator Karl Lee, tit-for-tat oil
tanker seizures, and U.S. sanctions against Caspian Sea shipping
companies.

Was this email forwarded to you? [2]Sign up to receive the newsletter in
your inbox, or [3]view the newsletter in your browser.

PUBLICATIONS

[4]

A "pin dome" from the Iranian nuclear archive documents. (Credit: Institute
for Science and International Security)

Interviews and Podcasts | [5]Iran’s Potential Path from Breakout to Bomb

For years, Iran’s “breakout time” has been a key metric by which analysts
and policy makers have evaluated the progress of Iran’s nuclear program.
The breakout time only pertains to the production of fissile material,
however; there are a series of additional steps, collectively called
“weaponization,” that would be required to turn that material into a
working nuclear weapon. To better understand weaponization and Iran’s
experience with key steps in the process, Wisconsin Project researchers
spoke with Dr. Bruce Goodwin, a retired senior fellow at the Center for
Global Security Research at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

For more about Iran’s Amad Plan, a coordinated nuclear weapon program that
ran between 1999 and 2003, read our 2015 policy brief, “[6]Questions Remain
in ‘Final’ Report on Iran’s Alleged Weapons Work.”

[7]LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

ENTITIES OF CONCERN

In June 2022, the U.S. Commerce Department sanctioned several China-based
entities for supplying electronics to Iran’s military industries.

[8]Chuangxinda Electronics-Tech Co. Ltd.

A China- and Hong Kong-based electronics distributor; has used deceptive
practices to supply Iran with U.S.-origin items that would provide material
support to Iran's military industries; has two registered entities in Hong
Kong; shares an address with [9]Blueschip Company Limited.

[10]LEARN MORE

[11]ICSOSO Electronics Company Limited

A China- and Hong Kong-based electronics distributor; claims to sell
products manufactured by major electronics companies; has been associated
with the trade names Shenzhen Avanlane Electronics Co. Ltd., IC[dot]CN
Company Limited, and Suntric Company Limited.

[12]LEARN MORE

[13]Chen Zhouqian

A Chinese national; serves as director of one of Chuangxinda
Electronics-Tech Co. Ltd.'s Hong Kong branches and manager of [14]At One
Electronics.

[15]LEARN MORE

IN THE NEWS

[16]

Two aircraft engines whose illegal export was prevented by the Security
Service of Ukraine. (Credit: Security Service of Ukraine)

[17]Russia's VTB Leads Moscow's Efforts to Strengthen Banking Presence in
Iran | Reuters

May 17, 2023: The Russian state-owned bank VTB opened a representative
office in Iran. The Iranian government is also planning to allow consumers
to use Russia's Mir card payment system within Iran. Russian state-owned
Promsvyazbank is already present in Iran. Sberbank, another large Russian
financial institution, discussed strengthening its ties with Iran but has
not yet entered the Iranian market.

[18]Iran Still Smuggling Weapons, Narcotics to Yemen, U.S. Envoy Says |
Reuters

May 11, 2023: U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking said that Iran is
still supplying arms and drugs to Yemen despite a March agreement restoring
diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The conflict in Yemen
is widely seen as a proxy fight between the two regional rivals.

[19]SBU Prevents Illegal Export of Engines for Military Transport Aircraft
to Iran | Interfax-Ukraine

May 2, 2023: The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) prevented the illegal
export of two aircraft engines to Iran. According to the SBU, the scheme
was organized by two owners of a Dnipro-based company specializing in cargo
transportation to countries in the Middle East and Africa. The conspirators
allegedly planned to falsely declare the engines as gas pipeline components
in their export paperwork. According to the SBU, the engines had been
stolen during the liquidation of a Ukrainian state-owned enterprise and the
intended Iranian customers planned to use them in an Antonov An-74 military
transport aircraft.

FROM THE LIBRARY

The U.S. Department of Justice announced charges against Chinese national
Xiangjiang Qiao for his involvement in a scheme to supply isostatic
graphite, which has uses in ballistic missiles, to Iran.
* According to the [20]Justice Department press release, Qiao is an
associate of [21]Li Fang Wei, also known as Karl Lee, and an employee of
the China-based company Sinotech Dalian - May 16.
* As explained [22]in the indictment, Sinotech Dalian is a front company
for Lee’s [23]LIMMT Economic and Trade Company, Ltd. - May 16.

The U.S. Department of Justice reportedly [24]seized the Suez Rajan, an oil
tanker loaded with Iranian crude and destined for China, sparking
retaliation from Iran.
* The Iranian Navy [25]impounded the Advantage Sweet in the Gulf of Oman
several days later - April 27.
* The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy [26]subsequently
commandeered the Panama-flagged Niovi while it was transiting the Strait of
Hormuz - May 3.

Amid an [27]expansion of Iran-Russia military cooperation, the United
States acted to disrupt weapon transfers across the Caspian Sea.
* State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel [28]confirmed that Iran has
supplied Russia with more than 400 drones since August 2022 - May 15.
* The State Department [29]announced sanctions against four shipping
companies, including the previously-sanctioned [30]Khazar Sea Shipping
Lines, which it says will constrain military transfers between the two
countries - May 19.

Iran Watch is a website published by the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms
Control. The Wisconsin Project is a non-profit, non-partisan organization
that conducts research, advocacy, and public education aimed at inhibiting
strategic trade from contributing to the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction.

Copyright © 2023 - Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control

[31]HOME

[32]ABOUT

[33]CONTACT US

[34]Twitter [35]LinkedIn [36]Facebook

References

1. [link removed]
2. [link removed]
3. [link removed]
4. [link removed]
5. [link removed]
6. [link removed]
7. [link removed]
8. [link removed]
9. [link removed]
10. [link removed]
11. [link removed]
12. [link removed]
13. [link removed]
14. [link removed]
15. [link removed]
16. [link removed]
17. [link removed]
18. [link removed]
19. [link removed]
20. [link removed]
21. [link removed]
22. [link removed]
23. [link removed]
24. [link removed]
25. [link removed]
26. [link removed]
27. [link removed]
28. [link removed]
29. [link removed]
30. [link removed]
31. [link removed]
32. [link removed]
33. [link removed]
34. [link removed]
35. [link removed]
36. [link removed]
Manage Your Subscription:
[link removed]

This message was sent to [email protected] from [email protected]

Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control
Iran Watch
1701 K Street NW Suite 805
Washington, DC 20006
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

iContact - Try it for FREE: [link removed]